State Senator Bill Stanley is no stranger to a courtroom. He successfully fought the state’s skill games ban, only to have it reinstated months later. That suit is ongoing, but Stanley's put a target on the state’s anti-saloon laws next.
Current Virginia law requires restaurants to sell about as much food as they do booze, a nearly 50/50 ratio, in order to keep their liquor license. But the same rules don’t apply to wineries, distilleries, breweries and, most recently, casinos.
And that’s why Senator Bill Stanley is repping a Portsmouth-area seafood spot in a lawsuit against the state’s long running anti-saloon law.
“You’re picking winners and losers and you’re the government. You’re creating exceptions for casinos because you like them more than restaurant owners?" he told Radio IQ. "That does not make sense.”
The suit, filed in the City of Portsmouth Circuit Court, claims Virginia’s constitution doesn’t allow laws to apply differently to similar entities. It’s among the reasons fellow Republican Senator Bryce Reeves is rooting for Stanley’s suit. Reeves has long been behind a legislative effort to roll back the state’s food to alcohol ratio and got closer than expected during the 2024 session only to have his effort die in committee.
“If it doesn’t hurt the process and it helps people earn their income, I’m kind of all for it,” Reeves said Thursday.
But Matt Benka with the Virginia Restaurant Association says dropping the ratio and legalizing booze-only-bars in the Commonwealth will do the kind of economic damage Reeves is worried about.
“Every single restaurant that has spent years and millions of dollars of investment to build a quality restaurant, this will put them at a clear disadvantage to the bars that open right next door to them,” Benka said.
Benka said the fate of Virginia’s ratio law should be decided by the legislature
As for Stanley, when asked what’s next for his suit he sent a single word via text: “Victory.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
